Just for arguments sake

[mussop]

What about James Laurinaitus? He is considered a top 15 pick by most yet I havent seen or heard of anyone mentioning him as a possibility for us. I love Adibi he was fav pick of that draft but he is still not a sure thing. Can he stay on the field? We still dont know if Diles will be back 100%. I know Laurin wouldnt be a sexy pick but it would be filling a need IMO.

Thoughts???

[NBT]

If you check my prior posts you will see I advocate drafting Laurainitis and moving DeMeco to his more natural Will LB position.

[mussop]

Originally Posted by NBT

If you check my prior posts you will see I advocate drafting Laurainitis and moving DeMeco to his more natural Will LB position.

Please enlighten me. Im interested in more disscusion on this.

[Roy P]

I want to go back to the 2002 draft for comparison. Napoleon Harris was a 1st round pick of the Raiders while Will Witherspoon was drafted in the 3rd round by the Carolina Panthers. Both have had productive careers, but I believe that their production has been about equal.

Fastforward to this draft and while Laurinitis might be a safe pick, I'm not sure he'll have any more impact for this team than Scott McKillop or Tyrone McKenzie. My point is that I just want more from a 1st round pick. Give me a player who isn't going to (have an equivalent) be available later in the draft.

[NBT]

While I see WR Jeremy Macklin as the BPA at #15, I don't rule out Laurainitis. His best football may be as a pro. I'm not sure I agree on your Mcillip-McKenzie analogy. Money is a great motivator, so Laurainitis may have saved his best for the pros, who knows?

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by NBT

While I see WR Jeremy Macklin as the BPA at #15, I don't rule out Laurainitis. His best football may be as a pro. I'm not sure I agree on your Mcillip-McKenzie analogy. Money is a great motivator, so Laurainitis may have saved his best for the pros, who knows?

I'm not ruling out Laurainitis, all I'm saying is that while he may be a safe pick, I'm not sure he's the best pick. He's got atheletic ability, but he's not a great tackler. I'd like to see him wrap up more and take people down to the turf with authority. Too many times, I've seen him getting dragged down the field for additional yardage.

[nunusguy]

Isn't Laurainitis basically an IL with very little chance of making it in the NFL in the 4-3 at the high-impact LB position of WIL ? I know a lot of people think Rey-Rey is worth a mid first round pick (or maybe even higher ?), but I dunno about that if playin in the middle is all he can do ? Anyway Laurainitis seems like the kinda guy the Texans might consider if they trade back to twenty something in the first and find he's still available ?

[Roy P]

I seriously doubt Lauriniaitis is on the Texans radar. The only position that he'd be considered to play is the WILL. While we may discuss moving Ryans out of the middle, that just isn't going to happen. So, will the GM decide that Adibi is simply a failed project or will he and the Texans give Adibi the chance to gain weight and get healthy to show what he can do? He had some flashes when he wasn't hurt. Perhaps this offseason he can get into the weight room and get stronger. Remember, we fired our strength and nutrition coaches. Personally, I think Adibi could be upgraded, but I don't have anything invested in him like Smith and Kubiak do.

The idea of drafting a SAM who doesn't put his hand on the ground and play DE in the 1st round is a waste of resources.

I will concede that Lauriniaitis will probably be a better player at the WILL than Adibi, I just don't see the Texans believing that the potential upgrade will give them the biggest bang for the buck.

One position that I could understand the Texans focusing on is CB. That of course depends upon how negotiations go with Dunta Robinson and the development of Antuan Molden. If Robinson is allowed to become a FA, we may be counting upon Bennett and Reeves as our starters. Do we really want Petey Faggins as the Nickle? Again, we spent FA money on Reeves and a 3rd round pick on Molden, so perhaps we are going to have to wait at least one more year before picking a CB.

So, there's probably not a S worthy of the pick. The CB and LB is most likely a year away before the team concedes that a 1st round pick is needed here. I think that leaves, boys and girls, a DL.